1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and a processing method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional image processing apparatuses that determine whether or not an image is a white image each time an image is formed and control whether or not the image from the image processing apparatus is output based on the results of the determination, are in wide use.
Such an image processing apparatus receives and analyzes page description language (PDL) data, reads an original document using an image reading apparatus, and generates image data. There are cases where such image data is generated sequentially along with accompanying information in a state in which the data is divided into, for example, block-shaped subregions. The generated subregions into which the image data has been divided undergo sequential image processing on an individual basis based on the accompanying information, and are compressed and saved into a memory. Because the image data is compressed when it is saved into the memory, it is possible to conserve space in the memory.
Conventionally, after decompressing compressed image data, whether or not the image is a single-color image, such as a white image, is determined by scanning the pixel values of the image data and determining whether or not the image data includes an object. When outputting images, control is carried out to prevent the wasteful consumption of output resources by not outputting single-color images based on the results of the aforementioned determination.
However, with the aforementioned conventional technique, whether or not a single-color image will be generated is determined by scanning the pixel values through a software process after the compressed image data has been decompressed, which has been problematic in that it leads to an increase in the processing time.